Even if Blu-ray were to fail as a packaged media format (anything can happen), it would live on as a data storage format.

ENGADGET: blogger-avatar

MP3.com in the past six months has gained notoriety as a proponent of MP3 (Motion Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer 3), a format for compressing audio data so that it can be downloaded easily over a network.

CNN: Digital grunge? MP3.com adds indie record label to roster

The data is presented in a semi-logarithmic format: steady growth appears as a straight line on a semi-log chart.

FORBES: The Role of Demand in Semiconductor Forecasts

InfoGlide's Similarity Search Engine converts data into a hierarchical format so that all transactions of an individual can be called up, as well as those of people with similar but not identical traits.

FORBES: Cybersleuths